List item checked!

Today I really wanted to spend some q-time with my sewing machine. I haven't visited with her for a whole week, and I was missing Bernie. But first, I made myself promise to do a housekeeping item on my everlasting check-list of things to do: Clean out the cupboard under the sink in my own bathroom. Ohhh, more horror!

The cupboard isn't that large, so how bad could it be?? Well, pretty darn bad!

Just so you know how long it has been since this little job has been done, I found a payslip in there (why??). It was from the month that we moved into this house - November 1999. So, effectively, that means I've NEVER cleaned up in there! Ohhh, the shame!

I think it may be the place where make-up and beauty products go to die. I was able to throw away a supermarket bag full of things with dubious expiration dates and old containers etc. I even tossed all the old make-up that I know I'd had for way too long. Am I right that we shouldn't really keep things beyond a year? I'm thinking that's what I've heard.

And here is the after. Looks like I was thinking at some point there would be a shortage of eyeshadow applicators, pressed powder foundation, soap and hair removal products. Hmmmm ... hoard much?? I think I will invest in a small set of drawers to fit in here some time - maybe it'll help to keep things organised.

See that wavy yellow container there in the corner there? My hubby made it in plastics class when he was in high school - I just love it - It's possible he doesn't even understand why I'm attached to it :-)

So, once that little detail was taken care of, I was able to make up some more of my scrappy blocks for the week. Here they are:

I love working up these scrappy blocks. It's possible I'm actually just dying to work on something other than Mrs Billings. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE Mrs Billings, but I've been working on it so solidly that I crave other things.

And speaking of Mrs Billings, I did get the large hexagon units finished last night, and now I'm going to work on some of the little hexagon units. Chatter soon! xox

Getting close ...

Lucky me, I only have three more of the large units left to make for the final Mrs Billings border. If I'm super good, I can have them done before the end of the day! Yay!

After that there is the small matter of the little four piece units, but they'll be a breeze. The finish line is drawing near! Chatter soon :-)

Ebay to the rescue

Yay for Ebay! Last night while trolling around, I found not one but two candelabras to grace the table for our formal dinner party. Interestingly, they were from two separate vendors, one here in Australia, and one in Scotland. The wonderful vendor in Scotland has marked theirs as shipped already, so hopefully it'll be here before the big day. What wonderful service! Here's a pic:

Now I'm hoping I'll find three more of my Masons Vista dinner plates, and it's looking good. I'm beyond thrilled, and can't wait until all my purchases get here!

And after this little spree is done with, I think I'm going to hide my cards for a while ... probably a good idea :-)

Quilt Sighting #5

On Sunday I flipped on the TV after being out for the aftenoon, and caught the very last part of the movie 'Little Women'. I had no idea it was on, or I'd have Tivo'd it. This was the version with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.

It was just playing the scene where sadly Beth is dying. It always chokes me up, but I held it together enough to get a few snaps of the quilt on her bed. It looks so pretty, I wish I could see it better. 

The quilt looks like it has been beautifully hand quilted, and you can see a little of the applique in the next picture. Such a sad scene.

I'll have to make sure to see this movie again in its entirety, as many ladies have commented on the quilts that feature in it.

So, before the movie, Kath and I were visiting Wohlers that Sunday, I've been on the lookout for a candelabra  I didn't find what I was looking for on the day - but they called the next day to let me know they'd found some for me - they're not really vintage looking - so I'm not sure they're exactly what I'm thinking of, so I will probably keep looking. I sadly missed out on one today at auction, but I still have two and a half weeks to find the perfect thing. We're having a formal dinner party again, and IMHO half of the fun is the planning and searching for the perfect things.

Better run, Lizzy is on her way over - time for some stitching and to catch up on all the news! xox

Chores or Hexies ... tough call!

Today it's hot - not super hot, but hot enough that I feel lethargic about doing my chores. Actually - it doesn't take weather to make me not want to tidy - but that's a whole different story. Anyways ... I need to get the bathrooms, floors and Camo's room done, so to make it more palatable, I'm doing little chunks of chores, and then working on some hexies ... and then back to the chores again.

I thought you may be interested in seeing how I deal with basting the hexies. Pauline, who made the wonderful Insanity quilt I shared a little while back gave me the most wonderful tip - and it was super helpful. She uses a tiny dot of the sewline glue to position the hexagon paper on the fabric, then glues just one side to ensure the fabric doesn't move, and then thread bastes. Have a look:

Top left is how I glue the paper to the fabric. I always use the straight grain as the side I choose to glue, it makes it easier to free the paper later with little to no fraying. Bottom left is a basted hexagon. I choose not to baste through the paper, and only catch the corners to hold them in place. This works well for small hexagons (these are 5/8") but I imagine it wouldn't be ideal for much larger ones.

Once I've sewn the hexagons into units, I can remover the papers that are surrounded by other hexagons and re-use them. Because I haven't sewn through the papers, they pop out easily and aren't damaged by thread running through them. Also, I can leave the basting stitches in place, they aren't going to bother anyone - and it's a great opportunity to use up those little bits of thread left over on a bobbin, or that tiny bit of quilting/piecing thread that just isn't enough for anything useful.

Though I'm not as this stage yet, once I've completed all the units I need, I'll hit them with some Best Press before I iron them, pop all the papers out, and appliqué them in place on the final Mrs Billings border. I'm so looking forward to that stage!

Have fun with your hexagons! :-)

Make some stars!

I've been busy working on my scrappy stars They're great for using up some of my small scrappage - and let's face it, I have SO MANY scraps! Would you like to make some too? The blocks are just darling, finishing at 4". If you'd like to get busy too, here's what you'll need:

Four 1.5" light fabric squares
Four 1.5" x 2.5" light fabric rectangles
Eight 1.5" medium/dark squares
One 2.5" medium/dark square

And here's how you put them together:

You use the flippy corner technique to make up the flying geese units with the light fabric rectangles and the medium/dark squares. Super easy, and has been around forever, but if you're a beginning quilter and don't know it, just let me know and I'll go into more detail.

And when you've had your fill of that fabric combination, then you can make some in the reverse colourway, replacing lights with darks and vice versa. Super fun.

Here are the blocks I worked on yesterday:

It's so much fun working with scraps - remembering the projects the fabrics were originally used in. And then there are the other scraps that I have no idea where they came from or how they ended up in my scrap boxes. Baffling!

Today I have a fun outing planned with my friend Kath, we're heading to Wohlers, so hopefully I'll be able to share some treasures with you when I get home :-)

Seeing Stars

Because I simply couldn't face any more hexagons last night, I decided I should get busy and make some more scrappy stars. It didn't take me long at all to fall behind on my commitment of four blocks per week for the year - but I think I was behind from the beginning! Here are my latest efforts:

I'm going to make more today - in fact I'd like to work on them all day - let's see how far I get with that. I'm getting better at being more scrappy, and I'm cutting out extra pieces for future blocks as I go. I've made 10 blocks so far ... and I should have made around 36 ... Ooops!

While looking for my phone just now, I wandered into the bedroom, and look who I saw:

It takes serious commitment to fit 25 hours of sleep into a 24 hour day, and Gracie is just the kitty to achieve it! Chatter soon :-)

Quilt Sighting #4

We got one! I mentioned this quilt in my first 'Quilt Sighting' post - it's the gorgeous one from 'When Harry Met Sally'. I remember the first time I glimpsed it - it was love at first sight!

Appliqué has always been a love of mine, and maybe, just maybe I'll make a replica some day. I'll have to watch some more and see if I can get an idea of what the sides of the quilt look like. I'm not sure if the picture above indicates half blocks around the edge, or if there are full blocks and a whole lot more bed we're not seeing. I'm on the case people!